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The french alpinist Laurence de la Ferrière
goes back to Antarctica
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Three years after her solo trek to the South Pole (December 1996, covering 1100 km and with one re-supply), the French mountaineer, Laurence de la Ferrière, is heading back to the icy southern wastes. Still operating on her own, she will be attempting this time to go from the South Pole to the French Dumont d'Urville base, via dome C (or Concordia dome) where a Franco-Italian research base was set up recently. This time, she will be aiming to cover 3000 km.
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The mountaineer is leaving Paris this week for Punta del Este, from where she will fly - using the services of ANI (Adventure Network International) - to the tourist base at Patriot Hills, before continuing by Twin Otter for the South Pole. She intends to arrive at the Amundsen Scott base towards mid-November ("It will be very cold at that time of the year," Laurence told us last weekend, "So it will not be much fun...")
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Like Alain Hubert, she will be taking samples of ice for the LGGE (Environmental Glaciology and Geophysics Laboratories in Grenoble) throughout her trip.
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She will travel on skis and be pulled along by traction sails. She is scheduled to re-supply at dome C. Her sledge will weigh in the region of 120-130 kg. She hopes to complete her trek in a little under three months.
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The media and the public at large can keep abreast of her progress via her radio operator Kjell Ove Storvik who will monitor her from the base at Dumont d'Urville. Antarctica.org will naturally be in regular contact with him.
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We will be able to take advantage of this new adventure to tell you more about some of the less well-visited places in Antarctica, such as dome C, where a Franco-Italian scientific base has just been established.
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